Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine

by YukiraKing

Moments after the finale of 'Digimon Adventure 07: Virus' the core group of characters are faced with internal struggles of coping with the horrors they have finally escaped from. For some, the nightmare continues, and for others it is impossible to forget, but they will have to work together to move forward and face their newest and final foe.

14. Two Worlds, One Family

U/N: This is a very Washington focused chapter with both Jenna and Michael narrating. I love writing both of them honestly, it's so easy and fun. They're both focusing their lives on helping Sora at the present time, but they both have their own stories and lives going on so that's really fun to deal with too.

Title: Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine

By: UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 1: Incomplete

Chapter 14: Two Worlds, One Family

Michael Washington:

I was not a selfish person. I couldn't be, I was raised to understand the value of others and told that money and material goods were simply created to cause superiority complexes within the people of the Earth. I was not one of the people who fell subject to that particular flaw. I had donated more money to charity than I had kept for myself. Mimi had helped me create a charity when she lived in New York and I'd spent a lot of time helping homeless people have something to eat.

And so, when I had heard that Sora was arrested, I acted quickly and I paid her bail. Now, as long as she went to the trial I'd get most, if not all, of it back, but it still felt good to have helped her out in whatever way I could. I was no detective and certainly wasn't a lawyer either, so I couldn't help her in such a specific or serious way, but what I could do was use my money to help her.

It was getting pretty cold out though, and while I was happy to help, I really wished I had timed my arrival more carefully. I was standing outside Sora's house with my hands crammed into my pockets as the air slowly changed from cool to bitter. I was usually a fan of the colder months, but I also had a well heated home to hide away in if things got to be too much.

I was watching the faint clouds of my breath rise when I heard a voice. I held my breath, freezing in place, both literally and figuratively, and listened closer for the sound. When I heard a movement I turned to face the sound and hurried toward it. I rushed down the walkway outside Sora's house and spun around the white fence, finding two men crouching behind the bushes.

"What are the two of you doing here?" I asked. It was Tyler and Ricky, and while I didn't want to be afraid of them, they only reminded me of my time held in captivity. Would they take me again? I knew they could. I wasn't strong. Well, maybe I was—but not on their level. Both men looked up to me and stared with a dumbstruck expression. "Where is Marshall?"

Tyler fidgeted and looked nervously from side to side but Ricky actually stood tall. "What's it matter to you?"

"Well," I said matter-of-factly. "I am chosen to defeat the Great Evil's, and as that encompasses Marshall it's my business to know where he is and to find his weaknesses. I would like for him to be punished for his crimes." Both men seemed confused, like they couldn't understand a word I had said which was more annoying than it was satisfying, though I did like seeming smarter than them, if nothing else it boosted my confidence a little. They were stronger than me, sure, but they couldn't outsmart me. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you think you're doing here, it's not worth it. Sora's not here so go spy on someone else."

"She's not?" Tyler asked. Ricky elbowed him sharply.

"We weren't spying," he said. "We just saw you and thought you wouldn't want to see us, so we were really being kind."

"How very polite," I said sarcastically. "Now go before I call the cops." I turned at the sound of wheels coming to a slow and steady stop nearby and grinned at the sight of a cop car. When I turned back to Tyler and Ricky they were both looking to me startled and shocked, so when I stepped suddenly in their direction they turned and shot off down the street. I laughed but when I turned back to the police car I stopped immediately. Sora was being helped from the car by Ken with one hand while his other hand kept his partner Yakuin away from her because he knew as well as I did that he wouldn't be gentle. "Sora!" I called out, rushing to her side. She looked up and tried to smile at the sight of me but couldn't. I didn't blame her.

"Step aside," Yakuin barked stupidly, but Ken put his hand on Yakuin's chest and pushed him away again. "I have just as much right here as you do."

"And you're unnecessary," Ken reminded him. "I can do this alone, thank you very much."

"I'll just be here in the car then," Yaukin said through gritted teeth. Ken sneered at him but otherwise ignored him and led Sora toward her doorstep. She nearly tripped once, but Ken caught her. It was weird to see her still in handcuffs. I didn't like seeing her in such a bad state. She looked like she hadn't slept in a couple days, or showered. I was happy to have helped get her home at least.

I finally caught up to the two of them at the doorway and Ken used his keys to unlock the metal cuffs around her wrists. She immediately began rubbing them and I could see red marks under her palms from where her restraints had been too tight. "Have you been here long?" Sora asked, catching me off guard.

"Yeah I was waiting for you," I told her.

"You could have waited inside," she said, trying to smile again.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Didn't know where the extra key was."

"Oh," she said nodding. "Well Biyomon should be inside with Daisuke and Kurayami. And maybe even Labramon and Veemon, depending on their schedules." I immediately felt like a complete idiot. I had forgotten that they were staying here, and now the dryness in my skin caused by the weather was no one's fault but my own. "Michael," Sora said suddenly. "You paid for me, right?" I nodded. "You didn't have to do that."

"Sora," I said seriously, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You're risking everything for one of your friends. And it's my jogress partner at that—that basically means I'm required to help out in any way I can. It's like a law or something."

"You know," Ken said with a smirk. "I don't remember learning that one, but I'd be happy to enforce it."

Sora actually managed to smile now, but it was sad and it was pretty lifeless. "Thanks guys."

We all jumped in surprise when Yakuin began slamming on the horn of the car for Ken to hurry up. Ken rolled his eyes and turned to Sora. "You know how that works, right?" he pointed to her feet and when I looked I saw a black band around her ankle with an annoying red light flashing. It was an ankle monitor. I'd seen one before while filming, but never in real life. Sora nodded. "Basically don't leave your house. It's somewhat water-proof, so you shouldn't have any problems with cleaning yourself. If you leave, we'll know, and someone will come get you." His voice faltered at the end of his explanation. "I'm really sorry you have to do this, Sora."

"It was my choice."

"You're protecting all of us," Ken said quietly. "At least Kurayami, Takeru, Miyako and I. We all did it. It wasn't just her." He looked ashamed, turning to the ground. "She wants to take all the blame, but she shouldn't. She saved us all. Any of us would have done it. And yet you're the one taking the punishment." He looked up to Sora very seriously. "I'll do what I can to get you out of this, I promise." Sora made to hug Ken but he stopped her, pushing her away. "I don't think that's a good idea." He looked over his shoulder to see Yakuin and winced, looking back to Sora. "I'll call you after work, okay? Tell me if there's anything we can do for you."

"Just be with Mai," Sora insisted. "She'll need you." Ken nodded, and then he was gone. Sora stood by her door, watching him get into the car and leave, and then she looked up to me as the car drove off with Ken behind the wheel. "Home sweet home," she said sarcastically as she reached for the knob. She stepped inside and was immediately greeted by Biyomon who was hugging her tightly and telling her all about how mean Yakuin had been when he'd come to search the house. "He what?" Sora gasped, appalled. "I can't believe this!" she stormed around the living room for a while in a complete rage and then she grabbed her phone from the couch and plugged it into the wall. "Michael," she said sharply, "Make yourself at home. I'm going to shower."

"Good idea," I told her, holding my nose.

"Oh ha ha," she said sarcastically, but she actually cracked a smile which I was glad to see. Sora was gone a second later and Biyomon showed me around. The first thing she showed me was her bedroom which was very pink. She showed me how her television worked, which was the same as every other television I'd ever seen, but I didn't tell her that. She showed me her collection of stuffed animals and then she pointed up above her door.

"That's my favourite part of the room," she told me proudly, "I found it at a car-house sale." I assumed she meant a garage sale but didn't bother to correct her. Instead I stared toward the picture that hung there. It was holographic somewhat and when you looked at it from different angles it changed. Inside the frame was a tree and as you moved from side to side the tree passed from Winter to Spring to Summer to Autumn.

I couldn't help be reminded of my aunts, because I'd been to see them earlier that very day.

"I need your help," I told them. "Sora's in trouble and you can all do things that could save her from this. So let's start brainstorming." Spring looked up to the clouds, flopping back into the grass but said nothing. Summer and Winter exchanged looks that didn't look too good from my perspective. "Oh what now?"

"We really shouldn't get involved with your affairs," Summer said politely.

"It's none of our business," Winter said flatly.

I stared at them in shock for a moment, my mouth was probably hanging open stupidly. "We helped you crown yourself as Queen of an entire world, Winter. That was none of our business, but you're welcome. And what's making you stop now? You sure stepped into our affairs when you made the world forget about digimon! You did it before too, didn't you? When digimon were sent away the first time? That was you, right?"

"That was different," Summer said firmly. "You don't understand."

"What I don't understand is how you can pick and choose which of us to help," I snapped. "Sora's in trouble, but since she's not one of your beloved Holy Three she doesn't matter, right?"

"I think you are being entirely unreasonable," Winter said curtly. "What you don't seem to understand is that we are not gods."

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, no. But you can see through other people's eyes. Find out who is framing her by watching them." I turned to Summer. "You could alter people's memories and help them forget this was an issue."

"It is already recorded on file," Summer explained. "My powers serve no purpose."

"Except you could screw with the opposing lawyer in her case," I pointed out. Then I turned to Spring, "And you could use your empathy powers to alter the judge's perspective and change the outcome. You can all help Sora, so why are you not doing more to help?"

"Because you can do it on your own," Summer said kindly. "I promise, if you look hard enough you will find what you seek."

"Or you could give it to us," I growled. "God you're all annoying."

"That's offensive," Winter snapped. "You're rude."

I didn't really care honestly. I jumped to my feet and reached out for her crown. "Give me that, it's mine now." She slapped at my hands, shouting at me to leave it alone, "I gave it to you because I was being nice, and if you're going to be a big bully you can't have it!" Spring began shouting in a panic and Summer comforted her, and I felt bad so I stopped pulling at the crown. Winter turned to me, affronted and I sighed. "Why can't you tell me things? Help Sora, help us find Gaia—tell me about my mother. Do something."

"We cannot," Winter growled.

"Whatever," I said sharply. "Go away."

And then they all left my house.

Biyomon was waving her wings in front of my face and I snapped back to attention, apologizing. She laughed and then took my hand, leading me from her bedroom. She screamed as we slammed into a man and my body tensed up, ready to fight, but I didn't have to. It was Miyako's brother, Mantarou. "Oh, you scared me!" Biyomon squawked out some laughter.

Mantarou smiled down at her and then looked up to me, "You're Michael," he remembered and I nodded. "Sora's here?"

"Showering," I told him and he looked upset. "She'll be done soon probably."

Mantarou didn't say anything at first and instead turned to the stairs. "I went to the jail," he explained. "They said she got out. Do you know what's going on?"

"I paid her bail." Mantarou stopped in his tracks and I bumped into him. He looked back up the stairs to me and stared for a moment. "It's not a big deal. If she goes to the trial I'll get it back." Mantarou still didn't seem to believe me that it wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't. I was rich. That was part of who I was. My father set aside money from each of his movies for me and for Jenna, and after that I'd been taught to invest it all and working myself in movies and television shows—and two music videos—I had saved up some of my own as well, which of course I also invested in things. I knew what I was doing—and when I got confused my dad was always there to help me out. I could afford to pay Sora's bail. Really, I could. "I mean, sure we have less money that we did now that Willis is gone, but this is something I can do for a friend."

"I'm sorry about your brother," Mantarou said when we'd reached the bottom of the stairs. "Sora told me." He looked to me again and he actually looked genuine. "I don't know what I'd do if Chiziru, Momoe or Miyako died. I can't imagine what you're going through."

"It sucks," I agreed. And it really did. That was the easiest way to explain the situation though. No one would understand if I couldn't understand it myself, and so I never bothered to try to explain it away. "I'm just taking one day at a time."

Biyomon pushed me down onto the couch and climbed up next to me and hugged me. "How is Tatum?" I shrugged. "I heard you two were having some drama."

"Where the heck did you hear that?" I asked, confused.

Biyomon shrugged, "Hideto, I think."

Well, he wasn't wrong, even if I couldn't figure out how he knew. But I suppose he'd only heard half of the rumour, because we'd fixed whatever was keeping our relationship at a standstill.

"Tatum," I had said the moment she'd walked through the front door. I rushed out of the dining room and was by her side a second later. "I'm sorry. You're right. I was just so caught up in how good it felt to have my insecurities wiped away—"

"No," she said flatly. "I'm sorry Michael. You deal with the loss of Willis in whatever way you need to. It's not right of me to stand in the way of your healing process."

"Healing is one thing," I told her firmly. "But casting aside everyone else along the journey is another thing entirely. I love you and I'm sorry that I was acting so narcissistic. You're right. Audrey Hepburn is more than a pretty face and so am I. I'm also your boyfriend, and I wouldn't want to risk that for anything."

"I love you," she said kindly.

"I love you too."

"We're great," I told Biyomon with a shrug, deciding to keep all of my relationship drama to myself. "I don't know what Hideto was thinking, honestly." Biyomon seemed happy for me, but upset that the potential conversation had been taken off the board. Instead she started filling us in on some soap opera that she had begun investing her time into. She only stopped when Mantarou gasped Sora's name and hopped to his feet, rushing toward his girlfriend who was standing in the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her head. She was wearing a baggy t shirt and fuzzy pyjama bottoms and looked like she had never felt more comfortable.

She hugged Mantarou as he came to her and she kissed his cheek. "I'm okay," she promised, taking his hand and leading him back to the couch. "Michael," she said, addressing me. "I realized in the shower that I may have come across as ungrateful. That's not the case. Honestly, I'm so thankful for what you've done for me."

"No problem," I told her seriously. "Just don't run away from the trial." She smirked and it was good to see what a difference her shower had made. She flopped down and laid her head on Mantarou's lap, kicking her feet up and over top of my legs. Biyomon laughed and hugged Sora's legs tightly, happy to have her partner back. "How was your time in jail?"

"Would it be okay if we just didn't talk about it?" Sora pleaded. "It was pretty gross. It was dirty and wet and there were people everywhere." It seemed pretty cliché, and honestly it was her decision. If she didn't want to talk about it I didn't see any reason to ask her to.

Sora was quiet for a while as Mantarou ran his fingers through her hair. I felt pretty out of place in their relationship time—with Biyomon of course—and was even about to excuse myself when Mantarou finally spoke up. "I've been thinking," he said, though he was feeling pretty awkward it seemed. "What if we can prove where Moretsuna was before he went to the Digital World? If we can find his last location—and I mean where he passed between worlds—we might be able to clarify that you were in captivity when he was still alive."

"We still couldn't prove that I didn't kill him after I ran off," Sora explained, not bothering to open her eyes. "I don't really want to talk about it. There aren't any obvious loops to jump through; I've already run through it all, believe me."

Mantarou nodded, "Okay, I may not be a lawyer, but I am a paralegal and I do spend all day around them," he said, removing his hand from Sora's hair. "I think I might be able to help if you'd let me." Sora looked up to him like she wanted him to stop but he didn't quite seem to understand where she was coming from. "Sora, I work in the same building as Teki Hanzai. He's working the Moretsuna case."

Sora was immediately sitting straight up and she turned to Mantarou. I could practically feel the panic emanating from her already. "What did you do?" Sora asked, surprising me. I figured she'd been worried what he had found out, but instead she was worried about his safety. Sora really was a very loving person.

Mantarou looked so nervous that he actually got to his feet and paced toward the kitchen before stopping near an elaborate lamp. He looked back to her and said, "I went into his office and looked through his things—"

"Oh my god!" Sora gasped, "You're going to get yourself arrested too!" He looked sheepish and she flew off the couch to punch his arm. He gasped, retracting and Sora stood firmly in place, "That is not romantic—don't get yourself in trouble for me! If we're both in prison we'll be in different places, you know?" I cleared my throat, trying to excuse myself from the awkwardness. Sora turned toward me quickly and then smiled, "Michael, stay. Please, I'm sorry for this." I sighed and crinkled my nose as I retracted back into her comfortable couch. "What did you find at least?"

"I—I—" Mantarou stuttered, afraid of what Sora's reaction might be.

When I heard a knock at the door I practically fell to my knees to thank God, but instead I slipped out of the room and threw open the door to find an elderly looking man standing tall and dapper. He was dressed in an expensive suit and he was holding a briefcase in his left hand. He cleared his throat and announced himself, "I am Horitsu, Sora's lawyer. May I come in?" I nodded and stepped aside in time to hear Sora cry out in shock. Horitsu and I moved quickly into the living room to find her on the floor. She was running her hands through her hair and was gasping for breath. Her skin was pale and she was hyperventilating with Mantarou instructing her to breathe. "What is going on?"

Mantarou looked up in surprise and then he became very nervous again. Biyomon fluttered down from the couch to land near Horitsu and declared, "Mantarou snuck into the bad guys lair and found out that the supposed murder weapon is a knife that had Sora's fingerprints on it!"

I felt dread rising inside my chest immediately and I looked to Horitsu to gauge his reaction but his face was completely blank and void of emotion. "We need more information before we can decide if this is as bad as it sounds."

Sora looked up, her face twisted and she pulled herself to her feet, "You want more information?" Horitsu nodded, but did not lose his cool under Sora's intense gaze. "It's a blue knife with metallic handle and it has the number five written on the end in golden writing."

"H-how did you know—" Mantarou stopped talking as Sora left the room, marching into her kitchen. The four of us exchanged nervous looks to one another and Daisuke popped up by the basement door after hearing all of the yelling. He looked happy when he saw Sora, but his face fell when he saw how angry she was. She was holding a black block with five colourful hilts sticking from it in a row. She placed her finger between a green one and a purple one. "Oh no," Mantarou gasped, getting to his feet.

"It's missing," Sora said sharply. "I—I thought that maybe i—it was—that I—I don't know what I thought! It doesn't matter! Someone took the knife from my collection and planted it in an imaginary murder scene!"

"What makes them think the knife was the murder weapon?" I asked, not following entirely.

"It had Moretsuna's blood on it," Mantarou answered quickly, taking the knives from Sora's grasp so Biyomon could hug her. The two of them started crying but my mind was whirring. Who had taken the knife? Who had taken the blood? Who had planted it? Who the hell hated Sora enough to cause so much strife for her?

"And what were you doing during all of this?" Daisuke asked, more protectively than angry I was sure, but it did not come across that way. Horitsu was the recipient of Daisuke's wrath and again he remained calm.

"I was busy," Horitsu said. "As her lawyer I am entitled to whatever information I can trick people into giving me."

"And?" Daisuke asked.

It was then that Horitsu backed down, but not because of fear, but it seemed he was in fact ashamed of himself. "I didn't find much," he then turned to Sora. "But if you could give them an alibi—the true perpetrator, they surely could not hold it against you."

"I would never," Sora said, catching sight of Kurayami who was holding Haruki now, standing by the doorway. "I can't do that."

"If you do," Horitsu said. "They will know the knife is a fraud and that someone has been planting evidence. They will be searching for someone besides you."

"And who better than the woman I just accused of murder?" Sora snapped. "Living in my house? She has access to my knives as well, you know! I'm not going to throw my friend under the bus!"

"If saving someone else results in the bus running you over then it's not worth it," Horitsu snapped. "We have to at least consider the option."

"No." Sora did not seem willing to debate the issue. "We'll think of something else." Her eyes fell on Haruki and filled with tears. "We have to."

Jenna Washington:

"You look fine," Chi insisted as he leaned against my bedroom door, all the while looking like he was ready to pull his hair out. I wasn't usually the type of girl who put so much effort into her appearance—okay, so yeah I was—but this day was different. I could not simply say to myself 'I shall dress as a punk today.' No, today was different. I looked to myself in the mirror that made up most of the west wall of my bedroom and I stared at my reflection.

Obviously these steampunk boots did not match my floral dress, but did I even want to match? I had to come across as me, as Jenna. I had to show the world who I was simply with my attire, and I also had to look good. Obviously the floral dress wasn't 'me' enough, and so I reached around to my back to unzip it. I couldn't reach and so I spun to face Chi and smiled sheepishly, "Could you—"

Chi smiled that stupid little half smile of his that always made my heart flutter and then he strode across the room, his big heavy boots made a clunking sound with each step. He was behind me a second later and he pulled the zipper down. "I don't see why you're making this into such a big deal," he said, almost in a whisper. He sent chills down my spine and I turned around and pushed his shoulders to make him back away.

"It's a huge deal," I told him seriously. "Do you remember meeting my dad? And how you came out of the room feeling nervous, like maybe he didn't like you? That's how families are! They always think that the half of the relationship that belongs to them is better and that the other half is not good enough."

"They won't think that though," Chi said, rolling his eyes.

"They won't think it's weird that I'm a human?" I asked, folding my arms and raising my eyebrows the way Mary always did when she was annoyed with one of us. "They won't think that it's wrong that you're presenting yourself as a human to please me?"

"I'm not—"

"But they might not know that!" I insisted, turning away from him. He didn't seem to understand and we were already going to be late. I stripped out of the dress and left it in a heap on the floor around me. I turned to my closet for a moment and thought about what to grab. I wasn't taking these boots off because—oh god—they were so hard to put back on. So I'd need a dress. I pulled a blue dress with orange octopi on it out of my closet and smiled. That would do. I was quick to pull it on and had Chi zip me up again.

"We can go now?" It was cute that he thought that. I spent the next ten minutes doing my makeup and thought about curling my hair but instead I pulled it into a side ponytail. Then, when I was finally leaving the room, I backtracked and decided to curl the ponytail anyway. Chi genuinely looked like he was going to explode, but honestly, it was so important for me to be presentable. Meeting his family was something we had been talking about for a while. And it was something I was inevitably putting off. He didn't have a mother like he had led me to believe for so long. He simply had a series of 'siblings' that weren't even really his siblings but they were because why the hell not? "The only one who is going to judge you is Jun."

"Jun is your sister?" I asked sharply, confused. We'd run over the names and pictures of his siblings so I knew them all, but I didn't remember Jun being involved.

"No, not Jun, I mean Jundomon," he explained.

"No, you can't call her Jun," I told him seriously. "We can't have any more similar names. There's already Katsue and Kazue. Don't forget Marshall, Mary, Mari and Mai, Miyako's baby and Meiyomon. And whenever someone talks about Gennai I get confused thinking they're saying my name and I'm like 'no, I don't remember sacrificing myself for Iori.' No way can we have two Jun's."

"But Jundo sounds weird," Chi said thoughtfully. But he seemed to understand, "Jundo it is."

I sighed as I stared to my reflection. I wanted Chi to understand what I felt, and it wasn't good. I didn't think I had a way to explain it to him either though. When he looked concerned at my worried face I tried to take him away from the negativity. "So I was thinking," I said, "Michael said he ran into Tyler and Ricky yesterday, when he was coming from Sora's house, right?" He nodded. "Well, what if that wasn't a coincidence. It seems weird that they'd be there. They do everything Marshall says, and he does everything Veronica says. What if they're all up to something?"

"Something incriminating, you mean?" He questioned.

"Probably," I nodded, "And I know we shouldn't get involved but I'm nosey and also very stubborn. I think I'm going to get myself involved."

"If you think that's best, I'll support that," Chi said being a good boyfriend and making me feel worse about what I had to tell him. It was then that I decided I was ready. I just needed to grab my bag, find Kudamon and then we could be on our way. Kudamon was waiting by the computer, ready to go and I felt bad for making him wait. I felt bad for making Chi wait too, and I felt bad for making his siblings wait, but I was just so nervous. Chi seemed to understand that. He took my hand and stepped in closer. "You're perfect."

"Chi wait," I said loudly, though it was going to have to be me that brought us to the Digital World anyway, so the dramatics were wasted. Chi looked down into my eyes seriously for a moment and saw how genuine I was when I said, "We can't do this."

"Do what?" Chi asked, startled.

I froze, releasing his hands. I turned away from him and stared toward the ridiculous statue in the middle of the foyer. "Us."

"Stop, Jenna," Chi said, sounding more annoyed than sad.

"Seriously," I told him, spinning around to face him.

"And why not?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips.

I faltered. "You lied to me." I decided. His eyebrows rose and he shook his head. "I know, I forgave you and I love you."

"Then what is it?" Chi asked. "Is this just so you don't have to meet my family? If you're not ready we can cancel. They won't mind. I mean, Meiyo will mind, but he'll get over it." I shook my head. That wasn't it. It was part of it, sure, but that wasn't why I was scared or nervous. That was what I was nervous about, sure, but the reasons that I felt that way were really the problem. "Jenna, just tell me." I looked up and Chi no longer seemed annoyed. He looked worried and sad and that was worse. I would have preferred him just walk away angry.

"It's Kudamon," I told him quietly, "He's my partner." Chi looked to Kudamon who looked like he would have preferred to be anywhere but where he sat. Chi looked back to me, confused now. "Kudamon is my partner, and I love him. He's so relaxed and he reminds me that not everything has to be eccentric to be comfortable or to be seen. I wouldn't trade him for anyone."

"I'm not asking you to," Chi told me, thinking he understood. "I know Kudamon is your partner, and I think that's amazing." He moved toward me and took my hands into his and I shook my head, pulling them back.

"But who is your partner?" I asked flatly. "If I'm not your partner, then who is? You're a digimon, Chi. That means there is a human out there waiting for you."

And then he understood. And he smiled. So maybe he didn't quite understand. He gently took my hands again and pulled them close to his chest and he leaned down to kiss the top of my head. "Jenna, I know this isn't what you want to hear," he said quietly, "but you don't have to worry about that."

"Chi," I insisted.

"Do you trust me?" he asked simply.

"Of course," I nodded.

"Then let's go meet my family," he said quietly.

Of course he would put me into that situation. This wasn't a game. I was worried that I would grow to be too attached to him. It had come to me only last night, realizing that he was destined to be someone's partner, and now he had basically put me in a place where if I didn't go with him then I'd be the bad guy. Of course I trusted him, and I wanted to be with him and I wanted to meet his family, no matter how nervous I was. But without an explanation I'd always be wondering. Who was I keeping him from? But I did trust him, so I would try to not worry as he had asked. At least for today.

"Okay," I said finally.

"Yeah?" he questioned and I nodded. He grinned down to me and led me back to the computer where I threw my hand up and opened the portal, allowing my digivice to glow. The room lit up and in a second we were gone. The light faded to reveal the Temple. The light here was much different than the false electrical lighting of Willis' house—though I wasn't sure it was really called that anymore—and the air was different too. It was cool, but not even real so that was a weird feeling altogether. The temple was very empty again, and that was something I was always uncomfortable with. I had not been in the Digital World when the virus hit so I wasn't really used to the setting, or the feel of the Temple or anything around it. I didn't understand what might be going through the heads of those who once lived here, but perhaps the fear of another virus was prominent. They could return home though, if they wanted to. It was safe now. But they wouldn't, and I guess I could understand why, but it seemed rather cowardly to me. But maybe that was insensitive.

Of course it was insensitive.

Chi, still holding my hand, led me down the hallway we had thrown ourselves into. Kudamon was lying around my neck and keeping perfectly still. I was getting more and more nervous as we neared the end of the hallway. I didn't know why, because it was just meeting new people—I was a social girl and I loved making new friends. It was just these friends that were making me nervous. And the idea that Chi had a human partner out there somewhere that wasn't me was making me nervous too. I wanted to believe that because of his unusual state, not being created the way normal digimon were, he didn't have a partner. But Meiyomon was partnered with his mother, and that meant that Chi had a partner out there somewhere too. And it wasn't me.

What if she was prettier than me?

"Oh, there he is," Chi said softly, pointing down to a lonely tree in the courtyard.

"What?" I gasped, gazing down from the top of the stairs that would take us from the Council hallway. "Where? Who?"

"It's Meiyomon," Chi said with a light laugh. "He's going to take us to the Coliseum."

"Oh great," I said, forcing a smile on my face. I knew I was supposed to be happy. I was meeting the family of the boy who I was in love with, but I couldn't tell him if I was in love with him or not because I literally couldn't remember if we'd said it yet or not. It had been so long, and I'd been so caught up in the drama of the digimon that my relationship took a turn waiting on the bench just itching to be up to bat, but now that it was I was just kind of lost. I was erratic and ridiculous in most cases but now I had just tried to break up with Chi sporadically because there might be someone else in his life. Sure it was a big deal—a crazy big deal—but if he said I could trust him, then I could trust him. But now that we were together and his big truth came out he was happier than I'd ever seen him. I barely knew this man—mon—and I wanted to be supportive and loving but I was just lost. With finding out he was a digimon, being able to return home, losing my brother and realizing that the drama was far from over—I just didn't feel like I could sit and be comfortable enough to talk to Chi about how far along our relationship had come. Like seriously, had we said those three words that for some reason marked a large place in a relationship? Judging by the way he shifted uncomfortably in every romantic movie when they declared their undying love, it seemed we hadn't, but that didn't make sense because it seemed so natural that I loved him so why hadn't I said it? I'd never not said something that had come to my mind before.

And then he was leaping off the side of the stairway and stretching his wings out to fly toward his brother. I was too nervous to react this time. I thought about turning and running. Chi would understand. Surely he could see in my eyes that I wasn't ready for such a big leap.

And then, as he landed, Meiyomon caught sight of him. He leapt to his feet. I'd met Meiyomon before, but never as Chi's brother. He was in his adult form, and as he embraced Chi I caught sight of my boyfriend's face, grinning foolishly at seeing his brother once more.

Before I knew it, warmth had spread through my chest and I was walking toward them, down the stairs. It didn't matter that I was lost, because I had just found myself in the happiness that Chi radiated. I couldn't leave now. Not when Chi was so excited to bring his two worlds together as one. I trusted him, and I knew he trusted me. Leaving would break that trust, and we'd had enough trust exercises with him lying about his species.

As I came up behind the two of them I noticed how human-like Meiyomon really was. There were tattoos on his face and his eyes sparkled in a way that human eyes surely could not, but he was still very man-like. I wondered if I would get to see Chi in his digimon form again. He didn't reveal himself often and when he did he usually picked between specific attributes like his wings or his antenna for instance. Right now his wings had magically sprouted on his back as though his jacket wasn't there at all.

As I came around the tree, Chi looked up to me and smiled, his golden eyes shining with excitement. He spun Meiyomon around and the bells at the ends of his hat jingled as he spun around to see me. He leaned forward for a moment, looking closely and I felt my face heat up as I stood in his line of vision. I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had been because seeing Chi happy was all I really needed to see to know that meeting his family was the right thing to do.

"Isn't she just the cutest thing?" Meiyomon finally said. "You know, octopi are my favourite animal." He told me in such a matter of fact tone.

"They're creepy," I noted honestly.

Meiyomon nodded, "They really are." He sighed. "They're just the best." Hearing Meiyomon talk so calmly helped me feel the same way. It was something else now that I felt was tugging away at me. Did he really like me, or was he just trying to for Chi?

"We should go see the others!" Chi said, clapping his hands together like an excited child. I couldn't stop the smile from spreading on my face as Meiyomon joined in his brother's excitement. Meiyomon then snapped his fingers and I couldn't help but scream. We were wrapped in a pillar of pink light that I had not seen coming. Kudamon tightened his grip on my shoulders in fear, but both Meiyomon and Chi were looking dead ahead, like they couldn't not be excited. "So yeah," Chi said as he floated between Meiyomon and I. "This is Jenna."

Meiyomon reached out to shake my hand. "I'm Meiyomon," he told me boldly, "but since we're talking human terms here, my mom calls me Meiyo."

"Whichever you're more comfortable with," I told him as sincerely as I could. "I mean, my dad calls me Pookie-bear, but I don't expect you to do the same."

Chi caught my eye and winced but Meiyo just smiled brightly and shook his hair, "But it would be my pleasure Pookie-bear." Chi snorted but I just smiled uncomfortably. Was this normal trickery? Was I now the subject of an inside joke? Or was Meiyo really just against me and enjoyed toying with me? "Hold on," Meiyo suggested. I grabbed Chi quickly and the pink light vanished. We were only about six feet in the air, and we had been travelling very quickly across the open fields, but finally we had found our destination.

Chi fluttered to the ground with me tightly in his arms—thank goodness—but Meiyo fell into a crumpled heap to the ground, laughing as he rolled away. He finally popped up and shook off the dirt before turning and pointing to a large empty space. "Home sweet home," he explained.

I looked again, thinking I had missed something, but still saw only emptiness. I elbowed Chi and leaned in, "What is he talking about?"

Chi looked confused but then realization washed over him, "Oh it's cool," he leapt away from me, "Jenna, there is a giant Coliseum right behind me."

I nodded. "And my grandmother invented the telecom," I said sarcastically.

"No, seriously," he explained. "You trust me right?" I nodded uncomfortably. Uncomfortable because Meiyo was looking to me with wide expectant eyes. "So look again, and this time, you'll see a Coliseum." It didn't make any sense, but I did know that the others—those that had lived in the Temple—had been taken to a 'coliseum' of sorts, so it at least made sense. When I looked over Chi's shoulder I let out a startled gasp. A giant dirty slab of stone, carved into a round building, stood in the massive empty space. The building stretched high to the sky and there were several openings that led inside. "Isn't it weird?"

I took a moment to answer, still taking in the bizarre building. Then I looked to Chi and nodded, "Very." He reached for me and took my hand, dragging me toward the entrance that Meiyo had already begun running toward. The nerves had built up to a point where they had yet to explore inside me, but it didn't last long. The moment I stepped into the arena area of the Coliseum I was greeted with unconditional familial love.

Just past the elaborate garden that I knew Mari had a hand in creating stood several digimon who were all together after a long absence. I didn't have any time to be nervous or to think of what I wanted to say, which was good because I never did anyway, because there was just so much going on all at once.

"That is the cutest little dress," Jundomon, the purity fairy cooed.

"I have heard that you fought for your world," Aimon, the warrior bird of love said cordially. "I am honoured to meet you, Jenna."

"Cheese-brain over here," a regal man with bright, flaming orange hair said, "he's told us all 'bout you. He thinks you're the bee's knees." He grinned down to me and I smiled politely. "You get it? Because he's a bug, and that's a bug joke?"

"Oh I got it," I smirked, elbowing him lightly. I didn't recognize him from the lessons that Chi had helped me with. We had ensured that I knew their names before coming in because there were too many and I didn't want to seem rude by forgetting anyone.

Shinkoumon, the beautiful mermaid of faith simply smiled to me and embraced me before floating off to greet Chi. I was then left to stare toward the creepiest of his siblings that all seemed to find comfort in each other's company. Kiboumon, a terrifying reaper digimon, Ganboumon was just a cloud of black smoke with a mask floating near the top, and in front of the two of them stood Shojikomon which was an eye that seemed to move around with the deep purple nerves that were attached to the white part of the eye. They all stared to me, seemingly inviting me over, but I was thankfully embraced moments later.

"Karumon love little human!"

I shrieked in shock as I was hoisted from the ground and into a very tight and loving embrace. I got a look at the culprit through my peripheral vision and saw that it was a very large cavewoman with petals surrounding her face. Karumon. Of course, how could I have forgotten? Karumon gently set me down and laughed down at me, clapping her massive hands together. "Is little Jenna liking big family?"

"Well I don't—" my answer was cut off as I was grabbed sharply from both sides. Two rather energetic dog-rabbits were spinning me around hopping in circles and not bothering to release either of my arms. "I'm gonna throw up!"

"Cool!" they both shouted, releasing my arms. Kisekimon and Unmeimon watched as I bent over, trying to settle myself and reduce my dizziness, they were waiting for vomit, and I was sorry I couldn't give it to them. My stomach seemed fine a moment later and they seemed upset.

"Sorry guys," I told them with a shrug, "maybe next time." They laughed and with that laughter all of my uneasiness went away. For the next hour or so Chi, who had finally found a moment to return to my side—which I was grateful for, because I wasn't ready to take them on alone since I didn't know them well enough—told stories of our relationship to his siblings, all of which I had time to interact with. Now, I wasn't ready to pick favourites yet, but it sure seemed that Zuyamon was the most like me—or at least she was the least in my face.

The regal man with the flaming orange hair, and the red robes turned out to be Yuukimon, and it made sense now that I thought more clearly. These digimon were created by the crests, but more specifically by the human heart, and somehow they had the ability to appear more human than their true forms. I wondered if this human-like Yuukimon was his human form or perhaps just a lesser level than his massive dragon persona. He seemed to be the only member of the family that was worried about his true form—probably because of his massive size—because the others all stayed true to themselves. Yuujoumon was a beautiful dog digimon and honestly I found myself staring at his shining coat of fur more often than I should have been. If only real dogs were that pretty I'd seriously consider getting one. Kenkyomon, who was very hard to spot, spent most of his time around Yurushimon's feet because he was the only one that could always tell where the chameleon was at any given moment, and that was amazing because Yurushimon was blind. Supposedly at least. Shinsetsumon, the little mushroom of Kindness, and Shinramon, the adorable robot of Trust were inseparable and took the roles of the youngest in the family, though I knew them to be roughly the same age. Hokorimon, the two headed beast of Pride was bipolar, I swear, but he always had something to add to the conversation. And Tsyuo-samon was the largest of the group, standing tall in his dinosaur-like form, listening wisely to the conversations at hand.

It was when Meiyo suggested a game that I finally got a moment to speak with Chi who, over the course of the evening, had been slowly transitioning back into his digimon form. Somehow I didn't even mind. I thought Chi was cute and very attractive, but that wasn't why I was with him. I found him to be intelligent, fun, creative and unique. His antenna and wings weren't going to stop me from loving him. "So what do you think?" he asked timidly.

I threw my arms around his neck to wash away any reason for his shyness. "They're amazing. They're all different and not what I expected—I'm sure Jundo could stop talking once in a while—but they're great, Chi."

"Yeah?" he asked, but I could see the relief washing over his face. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "You want to play the game?"

I looked to the others and saw Karumon tackle Ganboumon to the ground, and I winced. "I think I'll watch the first round, if that's okay." He laughed and nodded. "I'm going to go find something to drink inside the Coliseum though, okay?"

"Sounds good," he grinned, and then he turned to rush off toward his siblings. It felt incomplete though. There was something I needed to say to him, something that after all of the ups and downs of today, I couldn't go without saying. But it seemed he was gone now. So I turned to the Coliseum entrance.

"Hey Jenna!" I turned to see Chi hurrying back toward me. He pressed his lips to mine and caught me off guard. My heart beat quickened and my face turned red, and when he pulled away, I could see he was nervous and blushing too. "It means a lot that you came here today," he said quietly. "I just... I couldn't ask for anyone better. You accept me, and you care for me and you're able to put up with all of, well, this." He gestured around himself and then sighed. "And I just wanted to say that I love you."

He somehow caught me off guard, but I didn't hesitate when I smiled up to him and shook off my embarrassment. I took his hand and nodded. "I love you too." Chi kissed my forehead again and then was rushing off to the others. This time it felt complete. This time I felt that we had taken a solid step in the right direction. This time I knew whether or not we had said 'I love you' to each other, and now I knew how I felt about the relationship and where we stood. I trusted him. If he said that we had nothing to worry about, then we had nothing to worry about.

Except that wasn't really true. We may not have had any relationship issues to worry about, but I at least had some fairly serious traumatic events I needed to iron out. And I was reminded of that when I stepped into the Coliseum.

Benjamin stalled me from heading to my destination with a question about my relationship. Apparently he was a clone of a man who was born from a man and a digimon, and while that was fascinating and I surely had every intention to speak with him about that, I needed to keep moving. I heard someone crying and I needed to get to her. I knew who it was because I had heard the tears enough to know. Then it was joined by a soft whimper and I knew who was by her side.

When I pulled the old curtain aside I looked to the bed where Mary, my new mom, sat with tears rushing down her face. I hadn't expected to see her. What I had expected to see were the twin digimon curled up in her lap. They all looked up and instantly tears were in my eyes. Every time I was reminded of Willis I couldn't help but cry. For him, and for my mother, because somehow the deaths seemed related. Somehow I wasn't over losing my mom, and somehow I knew I would never be over losing Willis either.

I crawled into the bed with them and hugged Mary, crying with them. I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing, but when Dad came through the door he knew what we needed, seeing us crying and he left to get some hot chocolate. I didn't think that would help, but maybe it was a start.

Next on Digimon Adventure 08: Hideto is mourning over the loss of his boyfriend, while Miyako prepares to bring her baby home to her new house.